Are you watching closely?
by madscientistproduction.01
Summary: "After my bombs went off in the Capital, I thought I knew something about the dark side of ambition and obsession. Now, I'm not so sure I will ever understand." Sort of a crossover between The Hunger Games and The Prestige. Full summary inside.


**Summary: **_"After my bombs went off in the Capital, I thought I knew something about the dark side of ambition and obsession. Now, I'm not so sure I will ever understand." _

**After the revolution, Gale travels to Shiloh, the only other country in North America besides Panem. There, he meets a young woman that plunges him into a conspiracy full of danger and deception. Will Gale be able to uncover the truth? **

Sort of a crossover between The Hunger Games and The Prestige. Post Mockingjay.

**I own neither The Hunger Games nor The Prestige, though both are amazing**

**Preface: The Courthouse**

Albert Freddriks ran a gnarled hand over his stubbly white hair. He was too old to be sitting in a courtroom testifying against his only tenant. Maybe once upon a time he would have found this exciting, but mystery and intrigue are a young man's game. Now a man in his sixties, he had long ago given up adventure in favor of a pawn shop.

"Mr. Freddriks," the lawyer said, drawing Albert's attention back to the case at hand. "Could you explain to the court what your relation is to Miss Grisel Gull." Albert stood from his seat on wobbly legs. He could feel all eyes resting on him, waiting for him to deliver what could be a fatal blow to the young woman clapped in irons. Sweat trickled down his forehead.

"I was 'er land lord, sir," he answered in a steady but quiet voice.

"I understand she lived in an apartment above your store, is that correct?" The lawyer's eyes were like needles.

"Yes," Albert said simply, wishing he could sit down again.

"On March 10th, the night in question, did she say anything to you?" Albert tried to remember, but he found it was hard to think with all of those people staring at him so intently. After what seemed like an eternity, Albert decided only to divulge what he could be absolutely certain of.

"She paid me 'er rent," he began and continued carefully, "and she said she would be out late with a friend. I told 'er, no later than eleven and said to lock back up when she returned."

"Thank you," the lawyer said to Albert, and then turned to the judge. "No more questions." The defense attorney then stepped up to take his opponent's place. Albert gripped the stand in front of him for support.

"Mr. Freddriks," he began and smiled. It did not put Albert at ease in the slightest, "where do you work?"

_Thank the Lord,_ Albert thought, _an easy question._ "I own a pawn shop called Implements and Oddities."

"Does Miss Gull work for you in your shop?" Grisel's lawyer asked another easy question.

"Only part time."

"But you do spend a significant amount of time with her, yes?" prodded the defense attorney, attempting to make Albert elaborate.

"Yes, you might say so," he answered.

"In the time that you spent together, did you ever notice any odd behavior?" The attorney's words almost made Albert laugh. Grisel Gull was probably the strangest tenant any land lord could have. The changes in her personality were so severe, that some days he was sure the girl behind his counter could not be the same person that he had encountered yesterday. Not to mention all the odd hours she kept.

"Let me put it this way: it's strange day when I don't notice any odd behaviors," he said, smiling for the first time since he had arrived at the courthouse.

"You admit she was eccentric, but did anything give you reason to believe my client was dangerous?"

"No," he stated adamantly, "absolutely not."

"Thank you," the other man smiled again. "I'd like to call Gale Hawthorn to the stand." Albert hadn't realized he was holding his breath until he was back sitting behind the desk of Grisel's lawyer again. A much younger man had taken his place at the stand. There were tired bags under his dark eyes, and his obsidian hair looked like it hadn't been washed in a few days. "Could you please state your name once more, for the jury?" the attorney requested.

"Gale Hawthorn." The young man's voice sounded hollow, dead. _What horrors must you 'ave seen,_ Albert wondered, thinking of the war Panem had just gone through.

"You are not a citizen of Lorenguard, or even of Shiloh," the lawyer continued, "You are from Panem, is that right?" Gale nodded. The attorney was simply stating a fact that everyone already knew.

"I'm here for business. You can ask your prime minister." A hushed murmuring swept through the crowd at the man's obviously hostile tone.

"Of course," the attorney agreed, "but you had time for new acquaintances as well?" he asked, gesturing to the woman handcuffed to the stand opposite the witness, and chained to her chair. Gale nodded again, stiffly. "On the night of March 10th, do you know where Miss Gull was?"

"With me," Gale stated bluntly. The crowd started to whisper again, only this time a bit louder.

"Where and at what time did my client meet with you?"

"Seven o'clock in the evening, at the River Cafe," he answered without hesitation. People were becoming more openly excited now, the noise level rising with each passing moment.

"Let it be noted that our coroner clocked the time of Mr. Robert Hastings' death at 7:15 P.M." The defense attorney was practically shouting to be heard over the crowd. Judge Riley pounded his gavel in an effort to bring the room back to order. "Therefore my client could not have possibly made it from the River Cafe across town to the Burns Theater and killed Mr. Hastings, all in fifteen minutes!" The room was in an uproar.

"I said, QUIET!" Judge Riley finally shouted, red faced. The room fell immediately into a fidgety silence. Albert's heart was galloping like race horse. This case was becoming more confusing by the minute. "I call a one hour recess," the judge said, gingerly releasing his gavel, "then court will commence once more."

Once Albert was free of the courtroom, he took a deep cleansing breath. This case was taking more of a toll on him than he would have liked to admit. On the one hand, Grisel Gull was his tenant and someone he liked to consider a friend. But on the other hand, a man was dead and three witnesses had seen Grisel walk into and leave the Burns Theater. The witnesses' accounts all matched up with the time of death, but Gale Hawthorn and a waitress from the River Cafe (she had been questioned earlier) both agreed that Grisel had been at the cafe on the other side of town at the time Robert Hastings' murder had taken place.

Albert shook his head, despairingly. Whatever had truly happened that night, he was sure the outcome of this case was not going to be pleasant.

**Gale's POV: Arrival at Lorenguard**

Shiloh was a place he had only briefly heard about in his history classes. It was a small, distant country to the north, though landmass and population-wise it was much larger than Panem. Neither country had been very much involved with the other, although their had been a few trade deals and several meetings between President Snow and Shiloh's Prime Minister Edison. However, that all ended after the first revolution failed in Panem. Prime Minister Edison had declared Shiloh to be neutral, and from that day forward there had been no communication between the two countries.

_Until now,_ Gale thought, as he watched the scenery fly past his window. Yes, now that the proverbial waters had appeared to settle in Panem, Shiloh was eager to aid in its recovery. From what he had been told, the prime minister was considering opening up trade with Panem again and that was why an ambassador was being sent via hovercraft to Lorenguard, the capital of Shiloh. To say Gale had been shocked when President Paylor had first requested that he be the liaison would have been a gross understatement. She then explained that the Shiloh officials were hoping Katiness would be the one to honor their country with a visit. But seeing as she was both unfit and unwilling to act in politics again, it was Paylor's hope that Shiloh's prime minister would accept him instead, since he had been Katniess's trusted best friend for years. Before he left, Paylor told him firmly that no one in Shiloh needed know of his and Katniss's falling out.

"We have arrived in Lorenguard, sir," a tall, thin officer addressed him. Gale had been so lost in thought, he had failed to notice the hovercraft lurch to a halt on top of a landing pad. The officer that had spoken to him before took his luggage from a storage compartment and lead Gale outside. Expecting to take his first breath of fresh air in over six hours, Gale inhaled deeply. Instead of feeling refreshed, he gagged on the odorous and polluted air of a large city. The officer beside him graciously refrained from laughing, but Gale caught the subtle twitch of his lips curl up in a smile.

"You are new to city life?" the officer asked, recomposing his straight face. Gale bristled, not liking the feeling of being teased.

"I've been working in one of Panem's largest districts for two years," he replied curtly. The officer simply laughed in response. Gale felt his spine stiffen. If that man said one word against Panem or President Paylor...

"With all due respect, sir, that is nothing compared to Lorenguard." As soon as they emerged at ground level, Gale had to grudgingly admit the officer was right, although he'd never say as much out loud. The sprawling city before him was a huge, never ending ocean of stores, housing, factories, and people. "Be careful wandering around by yourself," the officer cautioned him as he loaded Gale's things into the back of an automobile, "You could get lost in the maze." He smiled and held his hand out to Gale. "It was nice to meet you, sir."

"Nice to meet you too," he replied, absently shaking the other man's hand. He was still taking in the sight of Shiloh's enormous capital city.

The ride to his hotel was a quiet one, but bumpy. The vehicle itself was top notch, but the roads were in desperate need of repair. Every now and then when they would make a less-than-graceful turn, Gale heard his driver curse. When they arrived, the driver stepped out and retrieved Gale's suitcases, all the while muttering something about hard working tax payers and potholes.

Gale got out of the automobile and stooped to pick up his two suitcases from the sidewalk. When turned to thank the driver, he saw the man was already pulling away. "That's one way to make someone feel welcome," he grumbled to himself.

"Don't be too hard on him," came a bell like female voice, "Being a cab driver is a thankless job." Gale turned around and came face to face with a young woman standing in front of his hotel. She was small and delicate looking, with porcelain skin and emerald eyes that twinkled mischievously. Her dark hair was thin, but had an ethereal shine to it and cascaded down to her waist in curls and braids. "You must be the southern stranger everyone keeps talking about." She smiled, revealing rather pointed teeth.

"Gale Hawthorn," he said, still feeling slightly awed. She took his hand and shook it much more hardily than he was expecting.

"Grisel Gull," she introduced herself in turn. "I work across the street and was just getting ready to take a break when I saw you pull up." He turned his head in the direction she had indicated. The sign said it was the Burns Theater.

"You're an actress?" he guessed.

"Close." She gave him a winning smile. "I'm a magician." Gale took a step back and eyed her skeptically. He wasn't even superstitious when it came to the old mines back in District 12, so he wasn't about to blindly believe this woman possessed supernatural powers the rest of the population did not. Grisel chuckled when she caught his expression. Gale thought her laughter sounded like wind chimes.

"I'm an illusionist," she clarified. "I perform tricks, not real magic. Good heavens, what a thing to think." Her grin appeared wolfish as she teased him, though Gale found he didn't mind being teased so much by Grisel.

"Tricks? What kind of tricks?" He couldn't even imagine what she meant by tricks and illusions. In his mind, those two words didn't exactly go together.

"Tricks, you know, slight of hand. Here, let me show you." Her face became smug as she waved her hands in front of his chest. "Are you watching closely?" she asked and winked at him. Gale raised his eyebrow, wondering if this woman was completely insane, when she gestured to his coat. "Check you pockets. I think you'll find something that doesn't belong to you." Gale's brow furrowed. Now his curiosity was really piqued. Carefully easing both hands into his pockets, and he was shocked when his left hand encountered a round object. He withdrew it and saw it was a bright red rubber ball.

"How did this get here?" He looked at Grisel wide eyed.

"Same way this got here." She grinned and pulled a very familiar looking wrist watch out of her own pocket. Sure enough, when he looked down, Gale discovered his watch was missing. "Care to swap?" she asked, holding out the watch. He handed her the ball and took his watch, still bewildered. "And that's one of my simpler tricks. You should come to my show on Friday night."

"At the Burns Theater?" he asked, slightly recovered from the shock of being so easily pick-pocketed. "If my schedule's open, I'll try to make it." Grisel's smile changed from prideful to genuinely happy.

"Fantastic! I'll see you then." She shook his hand once more, this time not as rough. When she turned to walk away, Gale made a quick assessment to make sure all his possessions were still present. "It's all there!" she called over her shoulder and laughed again.

_Hm, _he thought. _Maybe this trip isn't going to be as boring as I originally thought it would._


End file.
